Written question asked by James Clappison (Conservative) on Tuesday, 1 July 2008, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 3 July 2008. It was answered by Lord Coaker (Labour) on Monday, 1 September 2008 on behalf of the Home Office.

Offensive Weapons: Sentencing

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons convicted of an offence of possessing a knife were dealt with by way of (a) a discharge, (b) a fine, (c) a community sentence, (d) a custodial sentence, (e) a custodial sentence of six months or more and (f) a custodial sentence of 12 months or more in (i) each of the last 10 years and (ii) each quarter in the last three years for which figures are available.

Answer

The figures requested are set out in the following table.

Persons sentenced¹ for possession of a knife² 1996-2006
	Discharged	Fine	Community sentence	Fully suspended sentence	Immediate custody	Otherwise dealt with	Total Sentenced	Custodial Sentence six months or more³	Custodial Sentence 12 months or more
1997	992	1,181	759	9	375	44	3,360	34	17
1998	1,084	1,187	925	16	550	42	3,804	67	19
1999	958	1,032	970	7	536	61	3,564	48	11
2000	912	996	1,080	14	506	54	3,562	69	27
2001	1,030	1,164	1,509	8	592	61	4,364	82	24
2002	1,166	1,356	1,954	14	773	63	5,326	114	27
2003	1,237	1,289	2,033	16	761	63	5,399	136	46
2004	1,281	1,148	2,565	21	815	78	5,908	147	44
Quarter 1	324	313	580	5	208	19	1,449	44	15
Quarter 2	330	293	635	2	174	23	1,457	36	12
Quarter 3	327	285	625	7	206	17	1,467	31	10
Quarter 4	300	257	725	7	227	19	1,535	36	7
2005	1,050	953	2,832	113	970	84	6,002	136	35
Quarter 1	264	256	722	7	228	22	1,499	36	6
Quarter 2	261	237	714	15	256	24	1,507	39	16
Quarter 3	272	244	702	34	239	21	1,512	33	6
Quarter 4	253	216	694	57	247	17	1,484	28	7
2006	907	691	3,007	552	1,075	102	6,334	193	43
Quarter 1	286	220	751	90	275	23	1,645	54	9
Quarter 2	225	166	779	116	273	25	1,584	49	12
Quarter 3	198	150	754	175	289	22	1,588	51	11
Quarter 4	198	155	723	171	238	32	1,517	39	11
¹ Principal offence
² Possession of a knife in a public place, and possession of a knife in a school
³ These figures include those persons sentenced for 12 months or more

Secondary information